Who will serve in seat remains unclear as secretary of state's appeal is pending in Supreme Court

Amy Speers was the vote winner the Adams 12 school board District 4 race, but incumbent Rico Figueroa will remain on the board until the district and the Secretary of State's Office work out legal proceedings over the future of the seat.

The Broomfield canvass board on Friday confirmed Speers' win the Adams 12 District 4 race, after a Denver judge on Nov. 18 ruled votes for her must be counted — even though she lives outside the district she hoped to serve.

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has filed an appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court, arguing the votes should not have been counted and that the seat rightfully belongs to Figueroa, because he is the only candidate who met the requirements to run for the position.

Yet lawyers who pushed for Speers' votes to be counted argue her win should trigger a vacancy on the school board. That vacancy would allow the board to appoint someone new to the seat.

According to an amended abstract of votes released by Broomfield on Friday, Speers won the seat in Broomfield with 4,989 votes vs. 3,110 votes for incumbent Figueroa. The abstract was amended to reflect that Broomfield had counted votes for Speers, which were not reported previously because Gessler ordered at 5:19 p.m. on Election Day that votes cast for Speers should not be counted.

In Adams County, votes reported Tuesday showed Speers with a nearly 2-to-1 advantage over Figueroa — 19,180 to 10,971.

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Melissa Hoelting, a spokeswoman for Adams 12 school district, said Figueroa will stay on the school board until a judge decides if he should win the seat or if the board is free to appoint someone to the District 4 position.

There is as of yet no word on when the Supreme Court might take up Gessler's appeal, said Andrew Cole, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office.

Rico Figueroa

Because of an administrative oversight by the Adams 12 election official, it was not known until a week before the Nov. 5 election that Speers resides in Adams 12's District 2 and cannot hold the District 4 seat.

The legal fight over how to interpret Speers' votes started last week, after Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt ruled votes for Speers must be tabulated in her bid to unseat Figueroa.

The judge's ruling contradicted Gessler's Election Day order.

Gessler appealed Judge Hyatt's ruling late Thursday night. The appeal, sent to the Colorado Supreme Court, argues Speers did not meet the minimum requirements for office, meaning the Adams 12 school board does not have the legal ability to appoint someone in her place.

Gessler's appeal states that by declaring a vacancy on the board, the process would "deprive the only eligible candidate for District 4 director of rightfully being 'duly elected' to that office."

Lawyers who advocated for Speers' votes to count said the school board should have the power to appoint someone to fill the District 4 seat, based on the board's statutorily-mandated process.